A Brief  Description 


of  the 


State  Historical  Library 
Building 

At  Madison,  Wisconsin 


WISCONSIN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
August,  1906 


[2] 


The  Building  from  the  University  Gymnasium 


W'ZW'o 

A BRIEF  DESCRIPTION 


The  building  was  erected  by  the  State 
(1895-1900)  “for  the  use  of  the  State  His- 
torical Society  of  Wisconsin,  and  such 
other  libraries  and  collections”  as  might 
be  invited  thereto  by  the  said  Society.1 
It  occupies  a plot  of  ground  264  feet  square 
fronting  on  State,  Park,  and  Langdon 
streets,  deeded  to  the  State  for  this  pur- 
pose by  the  regents  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin. 

Design  and  Cost.  The  building  was 
designed  by  George  B.  Ferry  and  Alfred 
C.  Clas  of  Milwaukee,  and  is  constructed 
of  Bedford  (Indiana)  limestone.  It  is  of 
the  Ionic  order,  in  the  renaissance  style, 
and  with  its  equipment  cost,  as  it  stands, 
about  $610,000,  appropriations  therefor- 
being  provided  by  the  generosity  of  the 
state  legislatures  of  1895,  1897,  and  1899. 
The  contracts  were,  however,  chiefly  let  in 
1895,  at  a time  when  prices  were  unus- 


'Sec.'l,  chap.  257,  Laws  of  Wisconsin  for  1897. 
[3] 


Carvers  at  work  on  East  facade 


[4] 


ually  low;  it  is  probable  that  building  and 
equipment  could  not  today  be  replaced  for 
a million  dollars. 

The  form  of  construction  is  what  archi- 
tects style  “fireproof,”  being  primarily  a 
steel  frame  anchored  in  solid  stone  walls; 
floors  are  of  hollow  tile,  and  walls  either 
of  the  same  material  or  of  metal  lath  and 
adamant  plaster.  Exceptional  administra- 
tive care  is  taken  also  to  prevent  fire — there 
are  in  the  building  neither  furnaces  nor 
grates,  it  being  heated  by  steam  furnished 
from  the  University’s  central  heating  plant, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  a tunnel. 
There  are  about  2,000  electric  lamps;  but 
being  Jaid  in  metal  conduits,  wires  are  un- 
exposed. 

The  building  is  administered  by  the 

State  Historical  Society  as  trustee  of  the 
State;  but  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that 
the  library  and  seminaries  of  the  Univer- 
sity are  also  housed  herein,  and  that  a 
large  percentage  of  the  users  are  members 
of  the  University,  the  cost  of  maintenance 
(exclusive  of  salaries  of  the  respective 
library  staffs)  is  divided  equally  between 
[5] 


the  two  institutions.  In  addition  to  the 
State  Historical  Library  (about  145,000 
volumes  and  140,000  pamphlets),  and  the 
Library  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
(115,000  volumes  and  35,000  pamphlets), 
there  is  also  located  here  the  Library  of  the 
Wisconsin  Academy  of  Science,  Arts,  and 
and  Letters  (7,000  volumes),  making  a 
total  of  over  440,000  books  and  pamphlets 
at  present  within  the  building.  Both  of 
the  two  principal  libraries  are  now  having 
a rapid  growth,  and  these  figures  will  soon 
be  distanced. 

In  the  purchase  of  books,  the  libraries 
sharply  differentiate — the  State  Historical 
Library  confining  its  acquisitions  to  Amer- 
ican and  British  history  and  biography, 
religious  history,  general  geography  and 
travels,  Shakespeariana,  maps,  manu- 
scripts, general  periodicals,  newspaper  files, 
and  public  documents  (American,  Cana- 
dian, and  British);  while  the  University 
Library  limits  its  purchases  to  foreign 
history  (except  the  British  Empire) , litera- 
ture, philosophy,  philology,  sociology?  sci- 
ence, and  the  useful  and  fine  arts.  Thus 


[6] 


avoiding  duplication,  it  is  sought,  so  far 
as  practicable  with  the  resources  at  hand,  j 
to  cover  the  entire  field  of  knowledge. 

Although  the  administrative  depart- 
ments of  the  two  libraries  were  at  the  out- 
set provided  for,  but  one  of  the  two  pro- 
posed bookstack  wings  (the  southern)  has 
thus  far  been  completed;  the  northern 
wing  has  yet  to  be  constructed.  The  nor- 
mal book  storage  capacity  of  the  building 
was  intended  to  be  approximately  413,000 
volumes,  when  all  shelving  was  occupied. 
The  building  is  now  filled  to  a far  greater 
extent  than  was  supposed  possible  at  the 
outset.  The  proposed  new  stack  wing 
would  probably  house  225,000  additional 
volumes.  The  building  would  then  have 
about  sixteen  miles  of  shelving,  with  a 
capacity  of  possibly  something  over  670,000 
volumes.  The  plans  provide,  also,  for  an 
ultimate  transverse  wing  along  Park 
street,  connecting  the  two  book-stack 
wings. 

The  basement  is  occupied  by  the  ventil- 
ating and  plumbing  apparatus,  electric 
motors,  unpacking  and  storage  rooms,  and 
the  State  Historical  Library’s  famous 
[7] 


collection  of  newspaper  files  (which  is 
second  only  in  extent  to  that  of  the  Library 
of  Congress,  at  Washington). 

The  first  (entrance)  floor  contains  at  the 
south  end  the  State  Historical  Library’s 
departments  of  public  documents,  news- 
paper files  (consultation  room*,  maps  and 
manuscripts  (including  the  widely-known 
Draper  and  Wisconsin  collections),  and 
patent  office  reports  (American,  Canadian, 
Australian,  and  British).  At  the  north 
end  are  the  seminaries  of  the  University 
departments  of  history,  economics,  politi- 
cal science,  and  mathematics,  In  the  cen- 
tral portion  (west  side)  will  be  found  cloak 
and  toilet  rooms  for  men  (south)  and 
women  ( north) . An  electric  passenger  ele- 
vator, at  the  south  end,  connects  all  floors. 

Marble  work.  All  of  the  marble  used 
in  the  building  was  imported  from  Italy. 
That  principally  in  use,  for  wainscoting, 
stair-rails,  bases,  facings,  etc.,  is  the  so- 
called  English  pencil-veined  white;  treads, 
risers,  and  landings  are  of  the  blue-veined 
variety;  the  panels  on  both  sides  of  stair 
railings  are  of  Paonnazzo. 

The  pavements  of  the  public  corridors 
[8] 


A marble  stairway 

[9] 


are  of  marble  mosaic.  The  devices 
seen  upon  the  first  floor  pavement  in  the 
main  corridor,  represent  some  of  the 
“marks”  used  by  early  printers  to  individ- 
ualize and  ornament  the  title-pages  of  their 


The  Aldine  mark 

books:  England  being  represented  by  the 
mark  of  William  Caxton,  1489;  Germany 
by  that-  of  Melchior  Lotter,  1491-1536; 
Venice  by  that  of  Aldus  Manutus,  1502; 
[10] 


France  by  that  of  Jehan  Frellon,  1540-50; 
Holland  by  the  Elziver  mark,  1620;  while 
modern  America  is  represented  by  the  cel- 
ebrated mark  of  the  Riverside  Press 
(Cambridge,  Mass.). 

At  the  south  end  of  the  second  floor  are 
the  administrative  offices  of  the  State  His- 
torical Library,  and  at  the  north  those  of 
the  University  Library;  lying  between 
them  are  the  great  reading  room  ( seating 
240  persons,  with  some  5,000  general  ref- 
erence books  upon  the  walls),  together 
with  the  delivery  room  (with  the  public  card 
catalogue  of  the  libraries ) and  the  room 
for  bound  periodicals  (seating  about  40  per- 
sons). The  dark  red  furniture  of  these 
rooms  is  constructed  of  mahogany. 

There  are  two  delivery  counters — the 
northern  serving  the  University  Library, 
the  southern  the  State  Historical  Library. 
Through  the  gate  in  the  latter,  access  is 
had  to  the  book=stack  wing  in  the  rear. 
Here  are  six  floors  of  enameled  rolled-steel 
stacks,  each  floor  having  a capacity  of 
about  42,000  volumes.  The  several  floors 
are  connected  by  an  automatic  electric 
freight  elevator,  also  by  a book  lift  of  sim- 
ilar mechanism. 


[11] 


At  the  south  end  of  the  third  floor  are 
the  State  Historical  Library’s  lecture  hall, 
the  office  of  the  Wisconsin  Academy  of 
Science,  Arts,  and  Letters,  and  several  ad- 
ministrative rooms  connected  with  the 
Historical  Library;  at  the  north  end  are 
the  seminaries  of  the  University  depart- 
ments of  German,  Latin,  Greek,  French, 
English,  philosophy,  and  education.  Most 
of  these  seminaries  contain  special  librar- 
ies of  much  value. 

A visitor’s  balcony,  overlooking  the 
great  reading  room,  lies  between.  Back 
of  the  brass  railing  is ' the  genealogical 
department  of  the  State  Historical  Library 
and  the  art  departments  of  both  libraries. 
Like  that  in  the  reading  room  below,  the 
red  furniture  in  the  balcony  is  of  mahog- 
any. 

The  fourth  floor  is  devoted  to  the  Mu- 
seum of  the  State  Historical  Society.  The 
most  popular  departments  are  probably 
the  New  England  kitchen  (east  long  room), 
the  two  rooms  devoted  to  engravings  and 
color  prints,  the  room  wherein  are  kept 
the  relics  of  Wisconsin  in  several  wars 
(1812-15,  Secession,  and  Spanish-Ameri- 
[12] 


The  State  Historical  Library  in  1853 


[13] 


can),  the  ethnological  hall  (south  wing), 
and  the  Adams  collection  of  laces  and  bric- 
a-brac  (south  wing). 

Near  the  north  end  of  the  corridor  are 
the  now  tattered  flags  carried  by  Wiscon- 
sin regiments  in  the  War  of  Secession, 
and  here  temporarily  housed  until  the 
completion  of  the  new  Capitol. 

The  majority  of  the  portraits  along  the 
walls  in  the  north  and  south  galleries  are 
those  of  men  and  women  prominent  in  the 
pioneering  days  of  Wisconsin.  In  the  east 
long  room,  near  the  New  England  kitchen, 
is  the  original  library  case  wherein,  but 
little  over  a half  century  ago,  were  kept 
the  fifty  or  so  volumes  then  owned  by  the 
State  Historical  Library.  A carriage  once 
belonging  to  Daniel  Webster  is  in  close 
proximity. 

In  this  hall  are  also  some  impressive 
relics  of  the  New  Richmond  tornado  of 
1899;  and  numerous  interesting  remin- 
ders of  early  Wisconsin  in  both  its  French 
fur-trading  and  its  Anglo-Saxon  pioneer- 
ing stages.  One  of  the  earliest  printing 
presses  in  Wisconsin  occupies  a glass  case 
by  itself,  in  the  south  gallery;  in  another, 
[14] 


near  by,  is  a wooden  anchor  of  the  French 
regime.  In  the  north  gallery  are  plaster 
casts  of  famous  Greek  marbles,  and  num- 
erous paintings  of  interest — among  them 
a canvas  by  the  Russian  artist,  Verest- 
chagin,  representing  Wisconsin  troops  in 
a battle  in  the  Philippines.  Other  paint- 
ings of  note  are  in  the  south  gallery  (near 
the  elevator),  two  of  them  being  idealized 
representations  of  events  in  Wisconsin 
history — the  landfall  of  Nicolet  (1634), 
and  Langlade’s  attack  at  Braddock’s  defeat 
(1755). 

The  most  famous  object  of  historical  in- 
terest in  the  museum  will  be  found  in  the 
ethnological  hall— the  silver  ostensorium 
presented  to  the  old  Jesuit  mission  at  De 
Pere  in  1686,  by  Nicolas  Perrot,  then  com- 
mandant for  the  French  in  the  country  of 
the  upper  Great  Lakes.  The  collection  of 
prehistoric  pottery  and  copper  and  stone 
implements,  displayed  in  this  hall,  is 
large  and  interesting. 


[15] 


Elevation 


The  base,  with  contemporary  inscription 

The  Perrot  ostensorium,  1686 


[16J 


